Intermittent fasting. Fasting days can
be set up as ;;; calories for women and
;;; calories for men. Fasting occurs twice
a week, on nonconsecutive days, followed
by five days of healthy eating without calorie restriction. Meals are split into one
meal in the morning or early afternoon,
followed by a second meal in the evening.

Time-restricted feeding. All calories for
the day are frontloaded, so eating ends by
; or ; in the evening, allowing for an overnight ;;-hour fast. Eating resumes again at
; a.m. or later the next day.

School of Gerontology and published in
the journal Science Translational Medicine found that a five-day periodic fasting
diet, adhered to every few months, helped
to safely reduce the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. It also
helped to reduce inflammatory factors
and contributed to loss of body fat while
preserving muscle mass.

An animal study in the journal Cell
Research found that periodic intermittent
fasting helped to stabilize glucose levels
and led to weight loss. Finally, a ;;;; study
from the University of Southern California
found that intermittent fasting helped to
slow the aging process and reduce belly fat.

Is fasting right for you?

There is no one-size-fits-all dietary
approach. What works for one person may
not work for another. For example, a ;;;;
study conducted by the University of
Illinois at Chicago and published in the
Journal of the American Medical Association found that overall calorie restriction helped with weight loss just as much
as fasting did. Therefore, it may boil down
to the fact that some people do well with
periodic fasting patterns and others do
better with daily approaches that lead to
calorie restriction.

Fasting may not be safe for everyone.
Type ; diabetics, individuals recovering
from surgery or suffering from malnutrition, and pregnant and lactating women
should avoid fasting regimens.

How to start

The best way to start a fasting plan is to
make an appointment with your physician
or dietitian. Health professionals who are
well-versed in the practice can council you
on the various fasting approaches and also
help determine if fasting is the right
option for you, given your personal needs,
goals and environment. C

Costco member Kristin Kirkpatrick is the
manager of wellness nutrition services at the
Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute.

THE PROBLEM with diets is they often
require giving up foods you love and breaking habits that have followed you through
life. Based on studies, as well as my experience seeing patients, most diets don’t result
in successful long-term weight loss, and
that’s because the majority of dieters go
back to old cravings and old ways. It’s the
main reason diets don’t work. So what
should you do if you want to lose weight,
manage cravings and (the best part) live
longer with less disease? Fasting may be an
option for you.

Various types of fasting

Fasting occurs in short amounts of
time and does not have to involve giving up
favorite foods or eliminating entire food
groups. It can be done in a number of ways.
The one you choose should be one that fits
best with your goals and lifestyle and
should take place only after you have con-

The best way to starta fasting plan is to makean appointment with yourphysician or dietitian.